The invention relates to waxes used to coat the upper side of surf boards.
Surfers apply wax to the top of their boards to enhance grip between their feet and the board. Different types of surfboard waxes are used for different conditions and water temperatures. Soft, tackier wax is used for cold water and harder base paraffin wax (melts at a higher temperature) is used for warmer waters. Wax is also applied to body boards and wakeboards for the same reason. Early surfers used candle wax. Then in the 1930s they started using paraffin canning wax. This had to be melted onto the board and created a very hard surface. Sometimes sand would be added into the wax to improve grip. Then, in the 1960s waxes began to be made using oil and soft waxes like beeswax. Later, colors and fragrances were added. Today many of the waxes are synthetic blends of petroleum-based polymers. Some surfers wax the bottom of their boards with wax or fluoropolymer surface coatings to decrease resistance with the water and to protect to board.
Currently two coats of different types of wax are used for coating the top of surfboards. These two waxes are provided in separate bars. The first coat is known as a xe2x80x9cbasecoatxe2x80x9d and is applied to a new or freshly cleaned surfboard. The basecoat wax is has a higher melting temperature than the second coat, and is harder and less likely to melt away in the elements. The basecoat protects the board and provides a base (a xe2x80x9ckeyxe2x80x9d) for the second coating of wax. The second coat, here called a xe2x80x9ctopcoat,xe2x80x9d has a lower melting temperature and is applied to the first coat. This topcoat is a softer than the basecoat and is tacky. It has a lower melting temperature than the basecoat and provides traction for the surfer""s feet.
While surfing, the two layers of surfboard wax wear off and bare spots are worn through to the surfboards fiberglass surface. The topcoat wears of fairly quickly, exposing the basecoat. The basecoat then wears away, exposing the surface of the board, which is slippery. This usually occurs where the knees, stomach, and shoulders rub on the surfboard during paddling and waiting for waves. This results in a slippery surface that makes surfing increasingly dangerous and less entertaining.
Today surfers use small pieces of topcoat wax (that of a lower melting temperature) to try and patch the bare spots in the fiberglass. This is not very effective due to the absence of a base coat of wax. The result is that the topcoat wax, without the base coat, usually wares off quite quickly onto the surfers body or wetsuit in a matter of a few paddle strokes. The bear patch is then exposed again.
The invention encompasses a multi-layer wax bar for waxing a surf board, that includes both a higher melting point base coat wax and a second topcoat wax in the same bar, The two waxes are bonded together so that the surfer can carry a single bar of wax into the water and use it to apply both the base coat and the topcoat of wax.